


Huadan (花旦)

by chuiying_1 (orphan_account)



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Not Beta Read, Out of Character, Sketches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:28:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25055464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/chuiying_1
Summary: A samurai met a Dan actor in a theatre. Things begin there?
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Huadan (花旦)

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Couple: Hijikata Toushirou × Sakata Gintoki
> 
> 2\. Plot: Hijikata, who was a samurai who worked under a lord, came to China with his lord. He met Gintoki, a skillful Dan actor that rarely performed in a theatre, when the white-haired man was dancing and singing on the stage.
> 
> 3\. Please don't kill me, I'm writing this with the knowledge of a non-Chinese Asian who is terrible in History.

He was in a trance.

No, more than just a trance.

He was captivated by the way the man on the stage moved.

The Dan was dancing to the music, his robes fluttered like how flowers would fall, his voice filled with pure, raw emotions , his movements sublimed with round edges, yet powerful. 

" _Lifted sleeves, lowered with neighs and moans_

_This sorrow and joy that has nothing with separation_

_That gong and drums, still silent lifted fan_

_No one can ever understand the feelings in my raising voice_ "

His feet took such gentle, dignified steps to the music that if it was not for the Qing banning women from performing, Hijikata would have mistaken him for a gorgeous, bewitching woman. His hands moved with the music, like poetry in motion, fluent with such agility. His eyes glinted with a dim light of pain as they somehow melt the audiences' hearts away. His lips were painted red, just like a camellia blooming whenever he smiled, though agonizingly, and sang the intricate melody of the play.

" _Heart used to happiness and anger, used to being caked in make up_

_How can I express it with words_

_Me, the empty skeleton covered with moss_

_In chaos, beheld my country, my hometown in flames_ "

Eyes on the stage, he focused on the voice ringing with clarity, breaking with pain as the character had lost the man she loved. It rasped with desperation, with the lost hopes of a heart that was burnt to ashes and left to fall down with every step further away from him.

" _How can I forget where I came from_

_Even if I have no name and no voice_

_There is no one whom I knew left below the stage_

_Only me on the stage, saying goodbye with anguish and melancholy_ "

The miserableness was never gone, just dragged on even slower and more tormenting, as the singer cried out. The agony of the play tored his heart into pieces, like a dagger was carving and taking pieces of his soul away, little by little, abandoning him with an empty chest that could only feel a burning sensation instead of the beating of a heart that one should have. 

" _Hard to call it love, she written it down with blood instead of pearl powder_

 _The song started, the song ended, did they come?_ "

Hijikata is not only moved, but his tears flowed out.

Why did this song, this voice sound so familiar to him?

He could feel something deeply embedded inside his mind as old as time itself, but it was impossible to pinpoint it, no matter how many emotions he was going through.

" ** _We will meet again._** "

As the musicians stopped, everyone was clapping their hands, cheering for the actor on the stage.

"Toushirou, are you having a good time? The singer was really good, right?", the old man next to him asked, his comments had a Chinese accent to it, "He is our pride. Our best Dan. Too bad that he decided that he would only show up when he is desperate for money."

"I'm sorry, but why does he only show up when he needs money?" 

"That is for him to tell you." The old man shook his head, before standing up. "Follow me. I will have to pay that Dan."

"Yes." 

Toushirou trailed after the elder to the backstage, where a white-haired man in the Dan's clothes was standing and talking to other people, before turning around to talk to the person next to him.

So that was the Dan.

"给我钱吧。(Give me the money.)"

His voice sounded way too grumpy and low for someone who could sing the song back then.

He did not understand what that man was saying, but certainly his attitude pissed him off.

So this would not be a love at first sight for Hijikata, then. And everything about his first impression was wrong.

"Here's your cash." The old man next to him handed the actor and gave a thick envelope.

"Thank you." He opened it and counted the money inside and thanked him before going back to the dressing room to wash off his makeup.

"So.. that was the Dan actor on the stage?"

"Yes."


End file.
